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Saturday, July 31, 2010

A few SG updates...It's crazy around here at the end of the month, as we prepare the hundreds of club kits, but especially crazy this month, with CHA in Chicago just wrapping up.

Allison is the organized one. She had the kits for her two clubs ready and packaged before she left.

I'm the semi-organized one. I had some kits done before CHA, but I've also been finishing up two of my club layouts today. I thought I could get some stuff done while I was keeping Drew and Jackson for the week, but for some reason I needed a daily nap.

Stacey is the organizationally-challenged one. She seems to do her best work at the last minute. I've learned to not ask if she has her clubs done. She probably doesn't at this point.

Karin is the super-organized one, but she has to wait on the rest of us to finish up so she can do her part, so I suspect that several of us will be sneaking in Sunday afternoon to get everything cut and packed so that the "shipping department" can be fully operational come Monday morning!

Despite all the craziness, your August layout, card, and album club kits will be ready for you to pick up here at SG on Monday, and shipping will be on schedule as well!

August/September print newsletters...The August and September print newsletters should be mailed by mid-week, so most of you should have them by Friday. The main activity coming up early in the month is the August Super-Saver Scrapbooking sessions, set for Saturday, August 7. I'll post photos here and send out an email newsletter early in the week.

Friday, July 30, 2010

CHA aftermath...Allison and Stacey and Jeremy are home from CHA in Chicago, and it's been a long week for everyone! They did all the traveling, booth construction, and selling, Karin took care of the store by herself all week, and I got the best job of all...keeping Drew and Jackson for the week while their mom was gone.

Many good things happened for Scrapbook Generation Publishing during the three-day trade show. We collected lots of wholesale orders, which will start shipping out in the next couple of weeks. But beyond that, there are many exciting ventures that are in the talking stages. They are far-ranging and varied, and the awesome part is that the ideas came from other businesses that sought us out. I'd love to wow you with the names right now, but can't at this time. I'm thinking it will be fun to share them with you as each is finalized. Just suffice it to say that we are walking on clouds right now!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

CHA in Chicago, Tuesday and Wednesday: Taking orders

Stacey and Allison and Jeremy have had lots to report about their exploits at CHA in Chicago. Tuesday and Wednesday were a blur of handing out catalogs and talking to buyers. The first order placed with Scrapbook Generation Publishing was by Two Scrapbook Friends, a store in Ontario. The owners are in a photo above with Allison.

So far, orders have come in from US stores, international stores, and online stores. Today (Thursday) is the last day of the show, so we'll know the big picture later today! Other exciting discussions are underway, but it will be some time before they are finalized and announcements can be made!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

CHA in Chicago, Monday: Creating a booth

In Stacey's words..."We got to the convention center and checked in a little after eight this morning (Monday). We then had to wait about 45 minutes at the loading dock for the forklift people to come move your stuff. We found out that unless you could carry the stuff to your booth in one trip, you had to use the unloaders. Some kind of Union rule. I'm glad we did though. There is no way we could have carried it all that way.

We got set up and left the convention center around 7:15, so that wasn't too bad. Jeremy is the one that did most of the hard work for the day, with all the floor/shelf building. He was constantly building something. However...it was so worth it! The booth looks really, really nice. Definitely not like a first timer! The quotes bubbles are so eye catching and fun to read, and the layouts definitely stand out. It would certainly make me want to come in and take a look to see what they were all about. We've got a few more quotes and arrows to add in the morning, but other than that we're ready to sell, sell, sell! We'll take more pictures in the morning after it's completely finished. I have to say, it looks even better than I thought it would.

We met Carolyn Wolff (she comments on Ali's blog) tonight at the hotel. She recognized Ali, and it was hilarious. She walked up and said "I knew that was you!" She owns a store in Toronto and said they couldn't wait to place their order tomorrow. Said she had even been teasing it on her blog. We sat outside and talked to her and her friend (whom she co-owns her store with) for about 30 minutes. It was so funny because there are so many similarities as far as "store stories" go.

From me:I talked to Stacey and Allison Tuesday evening when the show was over for the day, and they were excited that some orders for our sketch books had already been placed. I was surprised as well, because I always spend the first two days just walking around and looking and collecting catalogs, then do order placing on the third day.

It looks like they did a great job on their booth design. They came up with all the ideas for the way things would be displayed, and for the hand-stitched quote bubbles and the arrows. I'm hoping to share more stories and more photos with you on Thursday.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Graphic 45 Design Team member Tammy Roberts' first class project for SG...

I knew it would be beautiful! Tammy Roberts brought in the model for the class she will be teaching Saturday, August 21 at 10 am. Just like the other pages we have on display that she has made, there is a tremendous amount of detail. She does an outstanding job of taking a variety of different sizes of embellishments and grouping them in a way that is pleasing to the eyes. It's easy to see why the Graphic 45 paper company chose her to design for them!

And I'll give you a heads-up. Her class is already half full, just from the notice I put on here a couple of days ago. If you want to enroll, I would move quickly. This layout class is a bargain at only $10. Just give us a call at 417-886-0440 to sign up.

Friday, July 23, 2010

It's taken a lot of time and energy, and it's still a work in progress, but Scrapbook Generation Publishing is SO close to launch time at CHA in Chicago that it's scary.

• All six volumes of Sketches for Scrapbooking are printed and ready to go. Sketches for Cardmaking is printed and ready to go.• The catalogs and order forms are printed.• The booth signs are ready.

To borrow a political phrase, we're "fired up...ready to go!"

There are still last minute things we're working on. Allison is hand-stitching about a zillion signs and arrows for booth decor. Stacey and Jeremy are building bookcases and flooring. I'm putting the final touches on 100 press kits. And Karin is keeping the store going because the rest of us have been absolutely no help the past couple of weeks!

It's definitely been a group project. Now we just have to wait to see how the books are received in Chicago. Ali and Stacey and Jeremy will be representing us, and I'm glad that both Stacey and Allison have attended previous CHAs, so they have an idea of the enormity of what they're getting into. They have strict orders to send me lots of photos so that I can post them here next week.

CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) is strictly an order-taking show, and there are buyers from local scrapbooking stores, international stores, distributors, and large big box chain stores. Members of the media also attend, so it's a big deal in the world of scrapbooking and crafts.

As I've said before, wish us luck. And thanks to all our local and online customers for giving us the confidence that this is the right step at the right time.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Upcoming classes by Graphic 45 Design Team member Tammy Roberts...Since the August newsletter is going to be late getting to you, I wanted to make sure that you are aware of an exciting new opportunity for those of you who like taking classes at Scrapbook Generation.

On Saturday, August 21, Tammy Roberts will teach the first of a series of classes called "Graphic 45 Vintage Charm." The classes will vary each month, and may be cards, one-page layouts, two-page layouts, mini-albums, or home decor items. We're giving her free rein to create whatever she wants! She's just completed several projects for Graphic 45 that will be displayed at their booth at CHA in Chicago next week. I consider us extremely fortunate to have her teaching classes at SG.

The first class is a one-page beach-themed layout using Graphic 45's "On the Boardwalk" collection and flowers by Prima. Tammy has four one-page layouts on display here in the store, and if the class layout is anything similar, we're all in for a treat! The price is right at only $10, and she is working on the sample layout now. As soon as it is available, I'll post if here and we'll display it at SG. (If you want to go ahead and sign up, we're ready! The class is offered at 10 am, and I'm expecting it to fill quickly.)

To see Tammy's style, you really need to check out her blog. The examples of her work are beautiful. There's a link to her blog in the right sidebar of this page.

Shipping announcement:We should have Graphic 45's new Halloween collection at SG sometime next week!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Get ready for the Allison Davis free sketch sessions this Saturday...

Allison has designed this layout for us to use this Saturday during Scrapbook Generation's free sketch sessions. We'll be using the bright and colorful papers from Pink Paislee's 365 Degrees collection. The sessions are held at 10, 11:30, 1, and 2:30. Just give us a call at 417-886-0440 if you want to join us. Your cost for the layout will only be about $4. (If you can't attend and want us to make a kit for you, the fee is $5 and is due at the time the request is made.)

Special note to "Super Sketch Club" members:Yes, this layout and sketch are included in your July kits!Note about the August-September print newsletter...Because of our preparations for exhibiting at CHA next week in Chicago, the August-September print newsletter will not be mailed on time. It will be mailed the first week of August. Because of this, I've placed the August schedule in the left sidebar on this page.

We have a great "Super-Saver" planned for Saturday, August 7. I'll post photos next week. We'll be using a "manly and/or travel" collection from Crate Paper that includes a 12x12 sheet of die-cuts and titles. Can't wait to make the pages for you! You can go ahead and sign up by stopping by SG or giving us a call.

Monday, July 19, 2010

We'd love to have you join the Designers Challenge Club!

All the goodies shown above are part of the packet that Designers Challenge Club members picked up at our July meeting. They'll be creating all kinds of projects (cards, layouts, mini-albums, etc.) from the same materials, adding in some "approved" items from their stashes at home. The monthly fee is $15 for the materials, and the packets always have more than $15 worth of product! This month, the packets included 16 sheets of double-sided paper, two 6x12 sticker sheets, a 12x12 die-cut sheet, chipboard shapes, a stick pin, and twine.

We usually have about 25 members in the club. Since we started the club, we've lost a few of the original members, but we've also added in a new person or two about every month! We always meet on the third Thursday evening of the month to share with each other the projects we've made. If you would like to join in time to participate in the August club meeting, just give us a call or stop by SG.

I really enjoy sitting down with the materials and seeing what I can come up with. Then I absolutely love seeing what everyone else has made with the same supplies! Following are the July projects from Designers Challenge Club members. (Their packets contained papers and die-cuts from the Meadlowlark collection by My Mind's Eye, plus chipboard titles, tulle, and twill ribbon.)